Dr. Royster
Dr. Royster is the Founder of Integrated Pain and Neuroscience, LLC. His vision was to create an organization that offered the most options for patients suffering from pain under one roof.
Dr. Royster received his Bachelor’s Degree in Biology, with a minor in Chemistry, from the University of North Carolina. He then went on to study at the University of Arkansas, where he obtained his degree of Doctor of Medicine in 2003.
Following graduation, Dr. Royster moved to New Orleans, LA where he completed an Internship in Internal Medicine at Ochsner Clinic and Hospital. Dr. Royster’s interest in pain medicine developed during his time at Ochsner and he continued there with his Residency in Anesthesiology. He further refined his expertise with a Fellowship in Pain Medicine at the University of New Mexico from July 2007 – June 2008.
In August 2008, Dr. Royster returned to New Orleans, where he served as Medical Director of Ochsner Baptist Pain Center and Supervisor of the Residency Chronic Pain Education Program until opening his own practice, Integrated Pain and Neuroscience, in April 2013.
Dr. Royster is unique in his published expertise of both spinal cord stimulation and Intrathecal drug delivery. He is the pioneer in peripheral stimulation for headache and facial pain and also has expertise in non-surgical pain therapies. Dr. Royster is the first physician in the area to offer medical acupuncture and minimally invasive lumbar decompression. Dr. Royster is board-certified in acupuncture.
Dr. O'Leary
Andrea O’Leary, MD specializes in both adult and child Psychiatry. She received her B.A. degree in Psychology from Emory University in Atlanta in 1994. Andrea also attended Boston University and Georgia State University. She graduated with an MD from Mercer University School of Medicine in Macon, GA in 2004. Andrea was awarded Outstanding Medical Student in Psychiatry at Mercer University.
Dr. O’Leary then went to the Tulane University School of Medicine from 2004 – 2010 where she completed their Triple Board Program in Pediatrics, Adult Psychiatry, and Child Psychiatry. At Tulane, Andrea was the Triple Board Program’s Chief Resident from 2007 – 2008, and the Co-Chief Resident from 2009 – 2010. She is a member of the following Professional Affiliations: the American Psychiatric Association, the Louisiana Psychiatry Medical Association, and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
Dr. O’Leary worked at Tulane University in the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry from March 2010 – March 2011. She was a child psychiatrist at the Midtown Clinic, where she provided outpatient Child Psychiatry and Telemedicine services. Andrea also supervised the medical students, residents, and fellows in the department. From July 2012 – April 2013, Dr. O’Leary worked for the State of Louisiana in Telemedicine Psychiatry.
Andrea began working at Integrated Pain and Neuroscience in April 2013 and is excited for the opportunity to use her expertise to help patients in new ways in pain management.
Dr. Friedman
Aaron Jacob “A.J.” Friedman, MD grew up in New Orleans. He earned a B.S. from Tulane University in 1968, and continued on at Tulane’s School of Public and Tropical Medicine where he received a Master of Public Health degree. Dr. Friedman graduated with an MD from Louisiana State University School of Medicine in 1976.
Dr. Friedman completed a Neurology Internship at Charity Hospital in New Orleans. He was a Neurology Resident at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland from 1977 – 1980. Dr. Friedman served in the United States Military at the Naval Aerospace Medical Institute in Pensacola, Florida from 1980 – 1983.
A.J. returned to New Orleans in 1983, where he worked at a private practice in Neurology through February 2006. After Hurricane Katrina, he moved to Waycross, GA and worked with Satilla Neurological Associates through February 2007. From March 2007 – September 2008, Dr. Friedman worked in Houma, LA at Southeast Neuroscience Center. He then moved to Southwest Neuroscience Center in Lafayette.
Dr. Friedman began practicing acupuncture in December 2012, after many years of interest in the ancient healing method. He has trained at the Helms Medical Institute based out of California, and is looking forward to providing New Orleans area pain patients with the unique benefits of acupuncture. Dr. Friedman is board-certified in acupuncture.
Dr. Friedman started working at Integrated Pain and Neuroscience in April 2013. He brings a distinctive aspect to IPN’s all-encompassing pain management facility with his knowledge of Neurology and Acupuncture.
Dr. Roberts
Dr. Roberts received his Bachelor’s Degree in Microbiology, with a minor in chemistry from the University of Arkansas Fayetteville. He then went on to study at the University of Arkansas, College of Medicine in Little-Rock, where he obtained his degree of Doctor of Medicine in 2003.
Following graduation, Dr. Roberts moved to Kansas City where he completed an internship in Internal Medicine at the University of Missouri-Kansas city. He went on to complete his Anesthesiology Residency at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Following residency, Dr. Roberts practiced OR based Anesthesiology at Cox Hospital in Springfield, Missouri, a level one trauma center, for several years. During his tenure at this busy regional referral center, he learned to manage and oversee the most involved and traumatic anesthesia situations as well as honed his skills in the field of ultrasound guided nerve blocks, spinals, and epidurals. His interest in pain medicine developed during this time and he went on to complete an Interventional Pain Fellowship with Dr. Eric Royster at Integrated Pain and Neuroscience.
Dr. Roberts is unique thanks to his experience of being involved in complex spine surgery cases including complicated revisions and multilevel fusions. This experience involved not only managing these patients intraoperatively but postoperatively as well. This has given him a unique perspective in the ongoing management of these patients after they leave the hospital and begin to return to their daily life. Dr. Roberts also shares Dr. Royster’s enthusiasm in the field of peripheral nerve stimulation and the developing technologies of minimally invasive lumbar therapies.
Dr. Francis
Dr. Michael Francis completed his Bachelor of Science at Marquette University in Milwaukee, WI in 1977. He went on to receive his Medical Degree (MD) from the LSU Medical School of New Orleans in 1981. In 1984, Dr. Francis completed his postgraduate training in anesthesiology at the Medical College of Wisconsin. He was appointed in 1986 to fellowships in Pediatric Anesthesia at the Denver Children’s Hospital, and in Pain Medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin. From 1989 until 2000, Dr. Francis served on the faculty of Tulane Medical Center in the Dept. of Anesthesiology. After Katrina, he was on the faculty of the Medical College of Wisconsin as the Assistant Director of Interventional Pain Medicine until he returned home to serve the Southeastern Louisiana community.
Dr. Francis is an honored diplomat of both the American Board of Anesthesiology and the American Board of Pain Medicine. He also holds memberships in many honorary and professional societies such as The American Academy of Pain Medicine, The American Pain Society, The American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians, The American Academy of Physicians Executives, and the International Spine Intervention Society.